God Supplies What Is Needed!
We have witnessed how drastic measures to combat a virus have crippled both big and small businesses and shaken the global economy. The results have been devastating and the recovery, we are told, will take a long time. How will all this change people’s view of work? Certainly people tend to build their identity around their work, which in many ways is being stripped from them! The verses written about work in the New Testament were addressed to people who worked in a very oppressive and unbalanced work culture. One of the distinguishing marks of Christianity in those days was how it viewed work. Christians, who did their work with respect, diligence, and integrity, offered a stark contrast to the culture’s view of work. The example Christians displayed in their work paved the way for the Gospel to infiltrate the culture. It was not dependent on whether or not the work culture made it easy for them… their work ethic was simply based on their belief that God gives dignity and honor to work. This made an impact and influenced the world around them. Please know that whether you are employed, unemployed, furloughed, or retired, we as Christians are always employed by the Lord, and we can rest assured by His promise to always provide for our needs. Working for any reason less than “as for the Lord” will render us ineffective as a witness to the work culture.
I will conclude with the following summary statement taken from Session 1 of our FCAP “On the Job…God’s Way” Seminar: “People with a God-sized view of work understand that performing the details of their job with diligence and integrity is of greatest important to God, while also believing that the ultimate purpose and results are bigger than that of the company and their own personal goals….” PMC Remember: “… do your work (whatever it is) heartily, as for the Lord, rather than for men…. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Colossians 3:23-24); “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
This thought was written by Paul M. Curtas, General Director of FCAP.
We often have seen our work as something that provides us with a sense of purpose and stability. Then something happens to disrupt all of that and life becomes uncertain and we feel insecure. Through our responses to this we begin to see more of what is inside of us, our inner thoughts and emotional patterns. We can become more vulnerable, and quickly give in to temptation. Before we realize it…we are trapped and are dragged downward by either fear, anger, jealousy, or hatred. We feel helpless, with no ability to deliver ourselves from the circumstance. The Apostle Paul was thinking of people who also had become trapped through life’s circumstances when he wrote “if a person is caught in a fault, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness” (Galatian 6:1-2). The original word for caught portrays a person who is suddenly caught by circumstance … like that of a fisherman, when throwing out his big fishing net, suddenly realizes his foot was caught in the net. He knows that without help it could drag him down into the deep. The word restore can depict a skilled person who comes and gently puts back in place a dislocated joint and mend a broken bone.
Often error comes into the world in pairs… pairs of opposites. In his unique way, CS Lewis in his book Mere Christianity describes how this works. “Satan always sends errors into the world in pairs – pairs of opposites. And he always encourages us to spend a lot of time thinking which is the worse. You see why, of course? He relies on your extra dislike of the one error to draw you gradually into the opposite one. But do not let us be fooled. We have to keep our eyes on the goal and go straight through between both errors. We have no other concern than that with either of them.” Do you feel paralyzed at times with the many opposite and extreme views being presented to us today? Our purpose as Christians is clear… we have been given a high calling to live for the purpose and glory of God. We are told to advance in God’s purposes by keeping our eyes on the goal (Philippians 3:13-14). How do you see God’s purpose defining every area of your life? PMC Consider this: “We make it our ambition to be pleasing to God” (2 Corinthians 5:9).